The Two Phantoms
by eddyl72
Summary: 2016: The Combine have fallen, Humanity rebuilds, The Doctor and Elizabeth meet as partners in the shadows...
1. Chapter 1

Landing at a lighthouse during a rainstorm in the middle of nowhere was almost normal for the Doctor. With no TARDIS, no companions, only a Sonic screwdriver and Vortex Manipularor running on low battery life, he entered the lighthouse. What greeted him was a golden bust of an angry man and a red banner that reads: NO GODS OR KINGS ONLY MAN. Downstairs was a submersival, which he activated, leading him to an underwater city. It was Rapture circa 1958. At first glance it seemed like a nice place, except for all of the Objectivist propaganda. To the Doctor, Rapture was merely an obscure legend, forgotten by most of humanity. He started to see why. But, before making a move, he stumbled upon a diner. It was mostly unoccupied, except by a lady with a cigarrette, fierce blue eyes, black hair, a white buttoned shirt with a distinct bird pendant, dark blue skirt, and pancakes for a meal. Intrigued, the Doctor asked: (May I? I'm new here so...) She replied, /Sure, I'm not waiting for anyone. You're the first one I've met here that's politely asked for something/ Confused, the Doctor asked, (Really? People here follow Ayn Rand's philosophy that much? By the way, what's your name?) /Elizabeth/ With a light smile, he said, (Beautiful name, I think). Elizabeth said, /Thanks, you're really not from around here are you?/ Knowing it to be true, he asked, (What gave it away?) She pointed out that, /Your eyes have a tendency to wander, like you're surveying the area, and you said that people follow Objectivism as if it was a foreign concept to you./ Fascinated, the Doctor confirmed her observation, (Oh, you're pretty good) Elizabeth's eyes wandered as she said, /It's something I picked up a long time ago. Anyway, what brings you here?/ He simply asked, (Would you believe me if I said I was from the future?) She simply said, /Sure, why not?/ Confused by Elizabeth's surprising comfortability with his statement, he asked, (And that's not strange to you?) She said, /Not really./ This was a strange scenario to the Doctor, normally he's used to feeling like an alien, not easily understood by those he meets, (And you don't think I'm some mad man?) Elizabeth made a quip, /There are plenty of people who are crazy here, you're not one of them./ Relieved, he simply said, (Fair enough.) Curious, Elizabeth said, /Though I wouldn't mind some details./ The Doctor explained, (I'm an alien mutant that got blasted by 500000 rads of radiation. And I have a busted up time machine that used to travel through space and time.) Elizabeth jokingly stated, /It's a tad weird.../ Surprised, he replied, (Wow, telling that story would've frightened most.) She admitted, /My story is strange as well/ (How so?), the Doctor asked. Subtly looking away, Elizabeth said, /I really don't want to talk about it right now./ He simply replied, (I understand.) Relieved by his genuine kindness, she stated, /I will say it involves mechanical giant birds, a city in the sky, and doors./ The Doctor asked, (And why are you here?) /A friend of mine died and I'm here to avenge him. He helped me escape the city in the sky./ was her response. Aware of what that could entail, the Doctor said, (You don't need to tell me the whole story. However, I would like to help.) Surprised, Elizabeth thought this person was a potential friend, however she considered the possible danger involved and said, /That's very sweet of you, but you don't have to./ However, the Doctor's reply was, (I'd like to.) Noting his previous comment that he was new to Rapture, she pointed out, /You don't have a place to stay, do you.../ Having no TARDIS, he knew it to be true, (No, but that's not the point. Besides, I'm kind of used to it.) Elizabeth offered him help by saying, /You shouldn't be. Oh, right, here's my radio frequency. Do you have a radio of your own?/ Opening his wrist-mounted Vortex Manipulator, the Doctor said, (Yes, though I'd have to fiddle around with it.) Elizabeth stands up, places her hand on his shoulder and said, /Also, please don't put yourself at risk./ the Doctor promised to do so by saying, (Will do.)

They travel to Artemis Suites, a residential district in Rapture. While it was a towering home, it was rather quite. Most Rapture citizens spend a majority of their time at work, and vacationing wasn't a very common practice. Remembering she didn't ask for her companion's name, she said, /Sorry, but I never asked you your name./ The Doctor said, (I don't have one. I just call myself the Doctor.) A curious name, she said, /Huh, it's quite fitting, Doctor./ Arriving at Elizabeth's apartment, the Doctor notices something. (Have you read any Sherlock Holmes novels?) Elizabeth replied, /Yeah, why?/ He pointed out, (Your aparement number is 221B.) Elizabeth, with a miscievous smile said, /I may have picked it for a reason./ He responded by saying, (You do have the skills and intellect to be a fantastic detective.) Elizabeth, having fun, replied, /Thank you, though there is another reason. The library I have in here./ Amazed, the library was the size of 3 giant bookshelves, the Doctor said, (Please pinch me. Because I must be dreaming) Playing along, she pinched him, /You're not dreaming./ (Wonderful, do you mind if I start diving into this enourmous pile of books?) the Doctor asked. Elizabeth's reply was, /Not at all, Doctor. I do have some questions though./ While reading The Body in the Library, the Doctor said, (Sure, ask away.) Elizabeth asked, /Since you're from the future, why are you here?/ His answer was, (Ship hunting, there's supposed to be a ship near Greenland that houses some kind of device that can allow travel between dimensions. I'm here to make sure it doesn't end up in Combine hands. The Combine are a totalitarian species that managed to conquer Earth in 7 hours in 2014. A friend and I managed to organize a Resistance movement to kick them out of Europe. Though that took a while, about 2 years. And I ended up here to destroy the ship's contents.) Elizabeth quipped, /You might have landed a few miles off target/ Embarrased by his mishap, the Doctor said, (I know, the battery on this thing is low, and for some reason it causes me to land in the wrong spot.) Elizabeth noted, /You mean that thing on your wrist./ (Yeah, I'm not very used to using it.) the Doctor confirmed. She pointed out, /At least you landed safely./ Looking up at the celing, he said, (True, some good came out of it. Like meeting you, finding this amazing library...) Elizabeth wanted to help, as it was a rare moment when she could offer her kindness freely in Rapture. She said, /If you want, you could sleep in the bed, I can use the couch./ The Doctor, not wanting to be a burden replied, (That's okay, it's your bed. You've been more than kind.) /You did offer to help me.../, Elizabeth stated. The Doctor assured her by saying, (I'll be okay, thank you for the offer.) Smiling, she said, /You're welcome./ (You're probably the only sane person in Rapture.), the Doctor pointed out. Elizabeth asked, /Why do you say that?/ He explained, (Aside from us, there's nobody here, meaning most people here have been indoctrinated into believing ideology and industry is more important than their own humanity. And the fact that this is normal is even more scary. It's an extremist society, which being a time traveller, I know how extremists societies crumble.) With an undertone of assurace, Elizabeth said, /I know, I wasn't planning on staying here forever./ the Doctor asked,(Alright, who have you been looking for?) /He goes by Booker DeWitt, an investigator. His real name is Zachary Hale Comstock, and he's using a stolen identity./ Elizabeth explained. The Doctor noticed, (I'm guessing the real Booker DeWitt was your friend.) She confirmed it by saying, /Yes, yes he was./ Knowing that he could help, the Doctor simply said, (Alright then, let's get started.)

Several weeks pass, and the two eventually found Comstock, setting Elizabeth's plan in motion. The Doctor stayed in the shadows. However, when Cohen shocked both her and Comstock, the Doctor deviated from that initial a guard's firearm, he entered the bathysphere, quickly trying to track down where Elizabeth went. It was headed towards the remains of Fontaine's Department Store. Arriving in the store yielded only the sights of a place that has collapsed. Corpses and broken objects were so common it was jarring. The Doctor kept up with Elizabeth, non-lethally taking down any deranged guards in his way. Though some things did become clear. They were injecting themseves with a mutagen, refered to as Plasmids. Overdosing, which happened to be a common occurence, led to their mental decay. Knowing that this was an extremely dangerous place for both Elizabeth and himself, he swiped a Shock Jockey, though not for its intended purpose. Salvaging parts from vending machines, bathyspheres,a protective glove, and a security turret, he constructed a prosthetic hand. The Doctor was going to use his left hand as a genetic precursor for a regeneration pladmid. Though he couldn't fully regenerate like his previous incarnations, he could heal quickly from wounds. Mixing his genetic sample with Shock Jockey would enhance its capabilities. Though now all that was left was to chop his left hand off. Injecting himself with an anesthetic from a medical kit he found, he then started the incision. Cutting through skin, muscle fiber, fat tissue, blood vessels, and nerves, the surgery was sharply agonizing. Then, reaching the bone, the Doctor grabbed a saw and quickly chopped off the bone.

After positioning the prosthetic against the bone, the Doctor injected himself with Shock Jockey, which elongated and connected the nerves to the prosthetic, allowing it to function like an organic hand. The operation took several hours, which meant that he needed to find Elizabeth quickly. Before heading out, he placed the hand in a jar and poured Shock Jockey on it, thoroughly mixed it, and as a result, yielded the regeneration plasmid. It only filled half of the jar, and the Doctor extracted it into an EVE Hypo needle. He then found Elizabeth in the toy department, unconcious yet talking. He injected her with the Regen Plasmid. Then splicers, led by Atlas, a man who's face is plastered throughout the store entered. The Doctor hid behind the door. And heard the sound of heating gas, which led him to the boiler room, it was set to its maximum temperature. But he could figure out what it meant, the Doctor heard the click of a revolver's hammer. He then went back to the toy department. Setting his radio to send transmission that only Elizabeth could recieve, he told Elizabeth to say she could get them back to Rapture. But she called him Booker. She mistook him for her friend. All the while the pieces were fitting into place. Elizabeth needed to draw Comstock out using a Little Sister, Comstock was her adoptive father from another dimension, and the boiler setting was her doing. And yet, knowing all of that, the Doctor wasn't horrified. Instead, he understood why she did it.

Though the details were still unknown. He then continued talking to Elizabeth via radio. But given that her recent trauma had caused her psyche to project Booker's voice unto the Doctor's tranmissions, all he could do was go along with it. As it was the only way he could help without causing any further distress. At times, he wanted to tell her the truth, but she wanted him to humour her. So, the status quo of their situation remained. That was until Atlas had her captured and interrogated after she used the Lutece particle to raise the prison. That was the moment when he knew he had to take extreme measures to ensure their survival. Having kept the pistol he stole. He modified it to function without the possibility of jamming and installed a suppressor. After Atlas' monstrous interrogations, the Doctor sneaked into the secret room Atlas kept in a bar. There he confirmed that Atlas was Fontaine. Soon after, Atlas came into the room. The Doctor pinned him to the wall, using his prosthetic hand to hold unto Atlas' neck. He then said, (When this is over, she better be alive, or you'll find yourself a vegitable, crucified outside of Ryan's office. You understand? Pull up one finger for no, two for yes.)Atlas pulled up 2 fingers, the Doctor chocked him out, rendering him unconcious. Sneaking into where Elizabeth was kept, he continued to monitor her condition, using the VM to read her vitals. He only left when Atlas showed up. Elizabeth then searched for and eventually found the Ace in the Hole, and thus Atlas hit her twice with a wrench. Atlas and his entourage left, and passed by the running Doctor at Suchong's office. Seeing him, the blood on the wrench, and his smug face, the Doctor turned and strangely said the following calmly. There was a hint of anger in his voice, enough to be noticable, (Atlas, we have a matter to discuss, tell your minions to disperse) Atlas simply told his minions, [Go, I'll see you lot.] 5 minutes pass. The Doctor asked, (What did you do?) Atlas snarkly remarked, [I didn't follow your orders if that's what you're asking.] (Tell me something, Fontaine. Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?) The Doctor asked calmly, with his prosthetic hand clenching and loosening. Atlas asked with confusion asked, [What...?] The Doctor then punched Atlas in the face, knocking him to the ground, then grabbed the wrench and threw it away. He then proceeded to crack several of his ribs. As a final act of intimidation, the Doctor then pinned Atlas to the wall and put his pistol in Atlas' mouth.(This is it it, this is how it ends. Now, I will give you the last choice you will ever have. Raise 1 finger to become a crucified vegitable for Ryan to call a trophy. Raise 2 fingers to run with your dead pride.) Atlas raised 2 fingers, was let go and quickly limped away. The Doctor then walks to where Elizabeth was, hoping the plasmid worked. He found her sitting by the window. Petrified that it failed, he couldn't bring himself to check her heart rate.(C'mon Liz, regenerate. Please regenerate. Liz? Regenerate!) Elizabeth opened one eye, while the Doctor was unaware of that fact and she yelled, /RAWR!/ The Doctor was frightened and yet felt a sigh of great relief, he said, (Ahh! Geez! You're okay? How do I know I'm not hallucinating?) Noticing his prosthetic hand, she asked, /What happened to your left hand?/ Also relieved that he was not insane, the Doctor said, (Definitely not a hallucination. Well, I chopped it off.) Wondering why he eould do so, Elizabeth asked, /Why?/ (I needed it to make a plasmid that allowed you to regenerate from your injuries. I was so scared it didn't work.) The Doctor explained, while hugging her. /Are you okay?/ she asked, concerned for him. (Yeah, I am now. Plus I'm used to the prosthetic by now.) Was the Doctor's reply. Elizabeth then had an epiphany,/Wait, you're the Booker in my radio./ (How did you know?), the Doctor confirmed while asking for details. Elizabeth explained,/You said 'I think Booker would miss you'. Having time to think about it, it sounded a lot like something you would say./ He said, (Yeah, it was me, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought it wouldn't help you.) Aware that the Doctor was needlessly criticizing himself, she comforted him by saying, /Hey, it's okay. You did everything you could./ (Thank you, are you feeling okay?) he asked. Elizabeth said, /My head is still intact, no headache or nausea. So, I think I'm alright./ The Doctor said with a sigh of relief, (Good, then let's get out of here.)/Alright, where do we go?/ she asked.(First, we need to skip to 2016, outside of the city. Hang on, do you want to pick up your books?) he said. /No need, I'm sure there's a lot more outside of the city./ she assured him. The Doctor then said, (Okay, I really hope this works.) They warp to 2016 on the stairs of the lighthouse. The Doctor then signals for pick up. The Doctor takes a nap as Elizabeth waits. An hour later a helicopter appears playing The Egg and I by Yoko Kanno. It was unarmed, but was unusually fast. Elizabeth gently wakes him up as the chopper hovered near them. They boarded it and headed to the site.

On shore, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart greeted them. =Welcome back, Doctor! Where were you?= (I had a malfunction on my Vortex Manipulator, ended up in 1958 by Rapture.) was his response. Kate then said,=I suppose you met your companion there?= (Partner, but yeah.) the Doctor pointed out. Kate explained the scenario, =I'm sorry, but we have to move quickly. The Daleks have found the ship. Fortunately they won't be there until the night. We've set up an outpost in the town where the ship is. No problems there.= /Okay, so how does this Resistance of yours work?/, Elizabeth asked. =As a whole, its known as Outer Heaven, but is divided into 3 specialist groups.= Kate explained. And the Doctor followed up by saying, (Foxhound handles the sneakier stuff, Diamond Dogs are the guerilla specialists, and Recon focuses on intelligence gathering, support, and medical duties.) Elizabeth noted, /So, they're there to make the Combine think they're fighting 4 enemies, when the reality is that they're up against 1 big group./ (Exactly.) he confirmed. They climb aboard the helicopter and arrive at the operations center in the town. Waiting for nightfall, the Doctor brings out a suitcase, where a scarf, sonic screwdriver and laser screwdriver reside. The scarf and sonic was for Elizabeth. The laser was for him. While handing Elizabeth the stuff, he said, (Here, these are for you. The sonic is a multi-function tool that can hack and scan practically anything, except it doesn't do wood. The laser, is for self-defense, its highly lethal. The scarf is, just a scarf) Elizabeth, talking about the scarf said, /I kind of like it. I also found this cloak. Since we're waiting for the night, I guess it helps to prepare./ Glad she wasn't as worried as him, he said, (At least you're ready, I'm not exactly there yet.) /Why?/ she asked. (That leader they mentioned, well he and I have a history.), he was talking about Davros, the creator of the Daleks. However, he was killed by the Daleks and shouldn't be alive. Elizabeth assured him by saying, /Hey, it's going to be okay./ (Thank you, if only I shared your enthusiasm.), he replied. Elizabeth pointed out, /You can, just its not constant, its not something that should be constant./ (Fair enough.), the Doctor replied.

Nightfall occurs, Elizabeth and the Doctor sneak unto the ship. Recon agents quickly use EMP rounds to disable the patrolling Daleks. Within 5 minute the Daleks are all destroyed, left in a pile of parts at the bow of the ship. The Doctor and Elizabeth sneak to the cargo vault. It's left slightly open. He places an EMP device in Elizabeth's hand. (You probably won't need this, but just in case.) Knowing what to do, Elizabeth said, /Okay, I'll keep guard, make sure those ridiculous machines don't get in. And Doctor?/ he asked, (Yeah?) /Be careful./ she said. (The laser should take out anything it hits...) the Doctor said in an attept to keep himself from worrying about what's behind the door. /I mean it, be careful./ she said, making sure he listened. (Will do.) was his reply.

The Doctor enters the cargo room and only Davros is present. Still covered in wrinckles and machinery to keep him alive. Though now there was less machinery attached to him, he looked exactly like the Davros from their first encounter on Skarro. It's as if time barely passed at all. The Doctor said, (I never thought in a million billion years you'd be the one pulling the strings.) Davros, without turning said, +Doctor, you're right on time. Thank you for disposing of the guards.+ (You're supposed to be a cadaver on Skarro.) the Doctor said coldly. +Whatever do you mean, the Daleks merely disobeyed my command. I simply came to Earth for this.+ was Davros' reply. A large Lutece Device was in the room. The Doctor asked, (And the Combine? What exactly is that?) Davros stated, +A necessary advancement. Without a human mind, the Daleks are limited in their function. Combining the 2 species yielded better results than I could have imagined. Much easier to control and condition.+ (And I'm guessing the Daleks out there just found you and came to eliminate you for going rogue.) the Doctor realized. Davros confirmed by saying, +Correct, with this device I can prove that I should be supreme commander of the Daleks.+ (They killed you, I doubt they'll be so willing to submit.) The Doctor quipped. +Why do you insist I'm dead when I am right in front of you? And what is this device? How does it work?+ Davros asked, as if he were a child with a new toy. (Why would I tell you?) the Doctor found the question to be ridiculous. Davros spouted in anger, +As stubborn and short-sighted as usual, Doctor. Fine, if you will not tell me, then perhaps the human outside of the room will.+ The Doctor, while chuckling, asked, (Davros, have you ever wondered why the Dalek always lose to me?) +They lack my leadership, that's why.+ Davros stated with certainty.(Hilariously enough, that's not the case. They experience defeat because you all flaunt your power with such stupidity and lunacy that I knew not to completely destroy them. They are targets you created for the universe to kick around.) was the Doctor's explanation. Davros replied, +But, without a display of power, how would they survive? You care too much about the small and weak, that you put them in harm's way.+ the Doctor, seeing Elizabeth pointing the laser screwdriver at Davros from the corner of his eye, asked calmly, (Tell me something, have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?) Davros, confused at his question, asked, +What?+ Elizabeth blasts Davros with the Laser Screwdriver. The Doctor said, (So much for being a survivor.) He then opens the door and lets Elizabeth in. She said, /I heard the whole conversation./ (I know, then you know why I gave you the laser screwdriver.) he said. Elizabeth said, /Yeah, I do./ (Thank you.) he said. Elizabeth hugged him, then said, /Now, what to do about this Lutece device? I'd say burn it./ The Doctor said, (I'll get the thermite.) They cover the entire room with thermite, burn the room in its entirity. They leave the ship, ensuring the Combine will never have their reinforcements. While walking out, the Doctor said, (Hey Liz...) /Yes?/ she asked. He then asked, (Do you want to go to Paris?) /Absolutely!/ She exclaimed with relief and Doctor said, (Granted, its not completely rebuilt...) Elizabeth quickly replied with, /I honestly don't mind, it'll be the real Paris./ Smiling and flicking his nose with his index finger, the Doctor said, (Alright then, allons-y.)

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Paris, a city where decay and renewal coexist. Snow and wind blanket a city now free from Combine occupation. Normality has begun to set in as civilians put up sometimes makeshift Holiday decorations. Bikes pass through the road, people walk home, and lights begin to be turned off one by one. In a safehouse starcase were Liz and the Doctor, sharing earbuds while listening to "Space Lion" by The Seatbelts. As they sat on the stairs, a UTH-72 Blackfoot made its approach towards the roof of the safehouse. When the song finished, the earbuds were put away and the two headed to the chopper. The Doctor said, "I kinda wish we could have stayed longer." Liz put her hand on his shoulder and said, "It's alright, we still have a job to do. Besides, nobody said we can't come back." He smiled and opened the chopper door for Liz. Kate sat in the co-pilot chair as they entered. She greeted them by saying, "Good morning." Liz quipped, "Technically it is, 2am seems like a strange time to call." The Doctor replied, "It's not that weird, sometimes we ran ops at 4 in the morning. It takes some getting used to, that's for sure." Kate said, "Sorry for this. However, there is a matter that requires our immediate attention." The Doctor said, "Well, at least we had time for a wardrobe change."

What he was referring to was the fact that both he and Liz now had newer clothes since their previous attire was roughed up by their time in Rapture. Liz wore a navy blue buttoned shirt, white lab coat, red scarf, black weather-proof leggings, and long dark blue skirt. The Doctor wore a black long-sleeve shirt, black crombie long coat with red lining, plaid trousers, and an upgraded prosthetic hand designed by Liz for CQC. Both wore comfortable, rugged shoes. Liz asked, "Since we're here and mostly awake, what's on the agenda?" Kate explained, "A few hours ago, Recon teams have found a high-value target known as Paul Walker, a former power broker back in the days of the War Economy." The Doctor added, " He's also a former Combine administrator, when the occupation first started, the Combine made the orchestrators of the surrender, such as Henry Kissinger, adminiatrators for the occupying forces in a city or town." Liz commented, "And this particular rat must have left a trail of bodies to remain elusive." Kate replied, "Yes, in cases like Kissinger and this one, they hired a terrorist group known as XOF, consisting of former PMC contractors. Currently, Walker is hiding in an abandoned bank in Hereford. His security detail consists of a 5-man squad equipped with M4A1 Carbines and Glock 33 automatics. Also their gear is ID-tagged, so you won't be able to procure weapons on-site. At least not without using a sonic screwdriver and risking an alert."Liz asked, "So, I'm guessing our job is to take them alive?" Kate answered, "That only applies to Walker, the rest can ho either way." "Non-lethal it is, then. Less paperwork and more comedy for when you interrogate these morons." The Doctor remarked as he folded his legs in a meditative position. Liz said, "Alright, we might as well take a nap before going into a potential combat zone." She lay her head back and closed her eyes.

The chopper crosses into England as 4am passes. Within the hour, the chopper arrives on the bank's roof. Kate said, "The box next to the door has a pair of Ruger Mk.3 Tranquilizer Pistols." The Doctor and Liz wake up and he quipped, "We have screwdrivers, I'm sure we can handle a few armed guards." Kate smirked and replied, "Understood." The pair opened the door and approached the roof-access door. Liz used her sonic screwdriver to open the door while the Doctor used his to disable the power generator. With that set up, they infiltrated the bank, as they took seperate routes to minimize the time spent and risk of an alert. The Doctor snuck up on a guard and threw him to the ground, knocking him out. A nearby guard heard the noise and went to investigate. Meanwhile Liz spotted 2 guards close by. She quickly slammed a guard around a corner and quickly threw the second one to the wall. The operative approaching the Doctor saw his fellow soldier down and noticed a corner. He then approached it and tried to stab around the corner, but the Doctor countered by twisting the attacker's wrist, causing the knife to drop and he knocked out the guard with a clean hit from his prosthetic hand. On the ground floor, the pair meet up.

The Doctor asked, "Did you see the fifth guy? Liz quipped, "No, not unless you're talking about the guy in the exo suit." As she peeked into a lit room with Walker and an exo user accompanying him. He replied, "I thought it was a drone for a moment." They use their sonic screwdrivers to lock the suit. Walker reacts by blasting the glass door with an Ithaca M37 Shotgun. They slide to the counters and vault into cover as 5 shells were fired at them. Liz asked, "He's out, right?" The Doctor quickly nodded no, then threw a box in the air. Walker shoots it as Liz quickly sonics the exits shut and the Doctor causes Walker's phobe to explode, tripping him up. Walker yells, "Damn it, you've already won! You and your rebels killed the last chance for stability, why go after me anyway?!" The Doctor crouched down and said, "War's not over until you stand trial. Strangely enough you seem to think the Combine represented stability. Kinda delusional if you ask me." Walker barked, "At least I believed in something. What do you believe in, huh? What do you believe in?! Liz approached and said, "We believe whatever doesn't kill us, simply makes us stranger. She smirked and decked Walker, knocking him out. The Doctor pulled out his phone, "All clear, you can bust in now." he said to the Recon team waiting outside. The two left the building and approached the chopper back on the roof. The transport then left for London as the snow storm picked up, covering the air in snow and wind chill. About 30 minutes later they arrive on the landing pad of MI6's former headquarters.

On the platform, to the left of the roof access door is the TARDIS. The blue police box had landed on the roof at the start of the war and stayed there since the engines were damaged and drained. Though the Doctor has managed to get it close to functional again. Liz asked, "I'm guessing the blue box is yours?" The Doctor said, "Yeah, it's also my home. Don't worry, it's bigger on the inside." He snapped his fingers, opening the door. It had changed from its previous form into a more sleek, angular aesthetic. Books lay in stacks sparsely scattered in the room. Bookshelves were placed at the outer rim of the space. A whiteboard sat on the railing close to the control panel. The panel itself eminated an orange light from the central pump. There were metallic round lights covering the room in a blue light. Liz leaned back near the door and quipped, "This is definitely the kind of place you'd live in." The Doctor asked, "What do you mean?" Liz answered, "It's the books, the whiteboard, the fact that its a room disguised as a small police box, it all fits somehow." He was then smiling, almost as if he was about to laugh. "What are you thinking?" Liz asked. The Doctor said, "I was right to say you're a fantastic detective." Liz blushed a bit and said, "Thank you. Honestly it feels weird having a close friend that I'm not always in a firefight with. I mean, I grew up in a tower in a city suspended in the air by quantum physics, I didn't expect any form of normality." The Doctor reached out his hand to her, she grabbed it. "Every now and then, when the wind stands fair, good things can happen to those who deserve it. Normally I would say this ship can travel all of time and space, followed by a question of where and when you want to travel to but the TARDIS is busted,long story. Most of it involves the room on fire and some very bad timing." Liz joked, "At least you didn't land with the door facing the floor." The Doctor scratched his head and said, "That's true, by some miracle it landed upright."

He went to the control panel and handed her a mini SD card, and explained, "This has a file on everything we've built and intel we've gathered the past 2 years. Given that XOF is a military arm of the old Patriots, it might come in handy for tracking them down. Anyway, the bed is below the control panel. That's for you." Liz said, "It's your bed, you don't need to..." The Doctor replied, "I want to, couch is pretty comfy anyway." "I appreciate it, thanks Doctor." Liz said. The Doctor replied, "You're welcome." They went to sleep, and the TARDIS lights dimmed. An hour passes as Liz woke up, grabbed her lab coat and scarf, then opened the door. The snow had slowed down to a light shower. She climbed to the top of the TARDIS and sat on it as she pulled out her smartphone, one she got from their Paris trip. Liz installed the SD card and opened the files in the card. She read through most of the files quickly, then noticed a personell file pertaining to a Dr. Sally Andrews, who turned out to be the former Little Sister that Liz saved.

As she thoroughly read the file, the Doctor came outside and had a cap with cat ears and 2 pins on the front left side. He asked, "Couldn't sleep?" She nodded to say no. The Doctor then climbed up to the TARDIS roof to sit next to her. He asked, "What's on your mind?" Liz said, "I'm looking at Sally's file. Apparently, she's a neurologist working in Recon's medical staff. The Doctor asked, "Do you want to go see her?" Liz replied, "I wouldn't know what to say. She's probably better off without me. I mean, I'm the reason she got caught by Atlas anyway." He said, "If it weren't for you, Sally would be dead. And let's say you happen to bump into her, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. You did save her life, which in my view, matters a lot more than the harm that was done." Liz turned to him and said, "Thanks, Doctor." He replied, "It's the truth, at least how I see it." They both looked up in silence as snowdrifts in the air, carried by bursts of wind. They listened to a city barely lit up with the sounds of cars absent for the most part. Instead, the faint buzz of streetlights, occasional rattle of bicycles, light crunch of steps in the snow, and helicopters patrolling the air were mixed into the night. London has been quickly recovering from the warzone it used to be during the Combine's occupation. As a result, buildings had become more modernize with a blend of brick and mortar with steel and had a foliage covering most of the windows as small bridges were built between rooftops at around corners, often carrying banners of the street names.

The Doctor's phone rang, it was a message from Kate. He said, "We've got a situation, XOF has started conducting raids in the area. Diamond Dogs are currently starting counter-ops, but I have the feeling that we'll be running into human shields at some point tonight." Liz added, "That makes this a lot more complicated. All this just to hang on to the days when they coukd do whatever the hell they wanted and get paid for it. I don't get it." He said, "Neither do I. You'd think that after the Combine retreated from Europe, terrorist groups would be insignificant. These guys screwed up and got us into this situation." She said, "Egomaniacs have a tendency to be idiots. They don't exactly work within the realm of reality." The Doctor quipped, "Here I thought only Time Lords were capable of such stupidity." Liz asked, "What are Time Lords?" He answered, "Essentially the species I was a part of before getting blasted with radiation. They were once the most influential and powerful civilization in the universe. But, they started thinking they could wipe out the Daleks before they ever existed. When that happened, the Daleks retailiated and it all went the way of Rapture, except it dragged a lot of the universe into the war."

Liz deduced, "I'm guessing you did the only sane thing possible in that scenario and eliminated both species." The Doctor asked, "How did you know?"Liz said, "What else explains you being able to build a revolution and practically win a global war in 2 years? I read your file as well. Very interesting stuff considering that you seem very protective of humanity. Why is that?" The Doctor explained, "People like you kinda says it all. Humanity is much more pragmatic and smart than the Time Lords. They pretty much sat on everything they had as a representative oligarchy until the war happened." Liz said, "So you left because you wanted to be more proactive in being helpful." "Pretty much, nowadays Kate tells me to trust that our guys can handle these kinds of situations," The Doctor said. Liz quipped, "Well, if we ran around trying to put out every fire, we'd never be able to sleep." He replied, "Yeah, you're right. Might as well listen in to see what's going on." The Doctor connected a pair of headphones and opened a radio scanner app to listen in on both the Diamond Dogs teams on the ground as well as XOF forces. Liz said, "Alright then, it's going to be a long night."

She takes out a cigarrette and a lighter to smoke. After a few puffs, the Doctor asks, "May I?" as if to say he wants to share the cigarrette. She hands it to him and they start a cycle of sharing the cigarrette after the other takes in a few puffs as they listen to the radio scanner. Liz said, "I'm hearing alot about a pod being transported out of potential combat zones. Are you hearing it?" He replied, "That's more than likely a Patriot AI pod. Part of the reason the War Economy was a thing in the first place is because a lot of the management of the War Economy was left to the AIs. Supposedly they controlled American politics and economics since the late 80s." Liz quipped, "Well, it definitely explains alot of modern American history. It kind of sounds like an Orwellian concept." The Doctor said, "It pretty much is, just the War Economy was supposedly a fatal glitch in the system." Liz said, "Something tells me that's not the whole story, creating a system that profits from warfare is too specific and deliberate to be an accident." He added, "That's certainly a possibility, but the rat who made it happen must be insanely twisted. In that time, civilians were getting slaughtered on a daily basis. So much so, it made Vietnam seem tame." They continued listening to the radio scanner, listening in on a shadow war being conducted, where stealth became the standard operating procedure on both sides.

In the basement facility of MI6, Kate is in an interview room with Wilfred Mott. A large file sat next to her, containing all the intel Outer Heaven had on the Patriots as both an organization and a system. Kate said, "Thank you for cooperating with us on this case, Mr. Mott. I'm sorry about the timing, but this is a matter that requires immediate attention. Wilf said, "Oh, it's quite alright. I'm more of a night owl anyway."Kate replied, "Understood, let's start with why you were hiding your identity. In your records, your name is Wilfred, but in there are no records from before you were of age for military service. In 1960, you vanished in a flight headed for London from America. Further analysis from Rapture showed that your name was originally Jack Ryan, a name not connected to any rogue elements at the time. After Rapture fell, you kept your current name, why? Wilf explained, "I dunno how my early records dissapeared, but after the whole Rapture mess, I wanted to leave it would have believed me if I said there was an actual underwater city. So I just went back to my life, helped the little ones I rescued from that place in any way I could and that was that." Kate joked, "Between the two of us, it was the right call to make. The Doctor submitted a report on the location, which led us to you. What was there could have led to serious complications in warfare if the technology of Rapture spread." Wilf asked, "Wait, the Doctor was in Rapture? Is he alright?" Kate answered, "Yes, he was running an op to locate the Borealis to destroy its experimental interdimensional devices, but a malfuction in the Vortex Manipulator he had landed him in Rapture in 1959." Wilf quipped, "That sounds like him alright." Kate continued, "He did find a partner in Rapture named Elizabeth. But I suspect that she is either a highly intelligent survivor or a trained agent, as surviving that death trap could not have been easy, even with the Doctor around." Wilf said, "There was this woman who saved Sally, one of my adopted daughters, she's a medic on your team now, could that be the one you're talking about?" Kate said, "Probably, we haven't had time to get a full debriefing, just bits and pieces."

Kate opened the file and said, "All of this is off the record, so you know. The reason I ask these questions is because we've noticed a pattern among XOF and the Combine, plasmid usage. Granted, plasmids have been documented for use since the 1960s among black ops organizations. But autopsies on Combine spec ops have shown signs of plasmid use, but they're recent traces. The same applies to the XOF operatives. We only have theories on how Plasmids have been getting into the outside world." Wilf said, "Oh, I did find these boxes down there. But all they had in them were chips and bibles. But by the time I found them, everybody was a splicer, gone crazy from all the plasmid injections." Kate explained, "It definitely helps our theory. The bibles would have been a good way to hide intel files. Nobody looks twice at a bible." Wilf said, "I dunno why they would use plasmids, injectibg them drove people crazy down there." Kate said, "The enemy is desperate enough, the war's not over yet. If anything its gotten more complicated." Wilf said, "Well, I'm sure you guys will figure it out, you always do." Kate replied, "We'll do our best, thank you for helping us on this, Wilf." They shook hands and he left the room.

Back on the roof, night passed into morning. The Doctor and Liz had a map out, they were marking where engagements happened and linking them to possible hideouts. Liz said, "Out of 25 engagements, 5 of which were heavy firefights, the XOF operatives have usally been coming from the north. Usually around the same area as MI6. If anything, they seem to be hiding out within a mile south of us." The Doctor added, "Otherwise they would have been conducting raids to the north of us. I'm already missing the days when all we had to worry about were the Combine remnants. Now we have these morons running around like monkeys with automatic rifles." Liz said, "Warfare is a constant, the only variable on it is about what." The Doctor said, "That's true. I just didnt think that after these guys got us conquered by aliens, they would be stupid enough to recreate the scenario that led to said conquest. Its as if they never looked up the definition of insanity." Liz quipped, "If emotions made us think rationally, they wouldn't be called emotions." He replied, "Fair enough. Fortunately, the Diamond Dog teams have managed to counter them with no civilian casualties outside of heavy firefights. In those cases there were only injuries, but nothing lethal. They're pretty good." Liz started marking the most likely spots for the XOF hideout, and he highlighted an old safehouse that agents of UNIT used before the war. They went back to the TARDIS to grab gear for the infiltration.

The Doctor explained, "So, these guys definitely have some connection to the Time Lords." Liz asked, "So you're saying there mercenaries are revivalists?" He answered, "Yeah, the biggest firefights took place in storage facilities where we have alien tech. Some of it was Time Lord tech. The one time they did break in, that was the only kind of tech they tried to steal. Just when I thought I was out, they drag us back in." Liz said, "There must be one that survived the war and knows about you." He replied, "I have a pretty good idea who it is. And once we're done with him, I have a Sicilian message to send to his boys in lockup." Liz said, "What I said before, about eliminating the Time Lords, I want you to know, I would have done the same thing." The Doctor lightly smiled, looked at Liz and said, "Thank you, Liz." They continued preparations as notes were written on the board and the radio scanner continued to give them updates through a speaker.

At night, the two rappel up an old building wrapped in gothic architecture right off the River Thames. They climb to the roof and use the ropes to climb down from a duct. They sneak past the security detail without even touching them, as it would risk sounding an alert. Liz and the Doctor find a hall with rows of containers of cyberbrains submerged in EVE. The substance gives off a faint blue light in the room. A man enters the room, which the Doctor recognized as Rassilon, former Lord President of Gallifrey. The Doctor pulled out a suppressed M1911, a precaution in case of an alert, and jumped down to get a shot. Liz, knowing that he wouldn't kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, drew her firearm and prepared to fire. Rassilon was aware of the Doctor and said, "Welcome, Doctor, it's been a long time. And finally, here we are. Cuckoo..." He fired at Rassilon but an energy shield blocked the rounds. Liz used her sonic screwdriver to disable the shield. As the Doctor put his weapon to Rassilon's skull, an XOF operative came into the room and pointed his rifle at the Doctor. Rassilon said, "I knew you would try to kill me, and I will not die."

Liz used her phone to tune into local XOF frequencies then after calibrating her screwdriver, she emmited a soundwave into the guards' earpieces to disorient them. The Doctor charged and threw down the guard aiming at him, then he aimed at Rassilon. After 10 seconds, the guards were immobilized. "Clearly you weren't." the Doctor quipped. Rassilon turned to the Doctor and said, "If you're going to murder me, take your shot." The Doctor replied, "First things first, tell us what you've been doing. Then you have my permission to die." Rassilon said, "Evolution, my memories are being downloaded into the cyberbrains in the room to create the true next-generation special forces. No need for gene therapy or training, just prosthetic bodies, cyberbrains, and the plasmids to bolster the processing power of the organic parts of the brain. So that my mind doesnt burn it down. Say what you will about the Master, but his plan to create duplicates of the self was worthwhile." I'm assuming that when I sent you back, you took control of a human and before that person's mind burned, you downloaded your mind into the Patriot AI." the Doctor assesed. Rassilon replied, "That glitch that led to the War Economy was no error. It was my will. See, one thing I learned from the Time War, was that nothing unites people better than going to war. Look at how powerful we became, how we were so close to surpassing physical limitations. War is evolution playing out at a faster rate, Doctor." Hearing the electronic sounds past Rassilon, the Doctor noticed the Patriot AI pod labeled JD and then shot it repeatedly until he ran out of rounds.

Rassilon grit his teeth and punched the Doctor, knocking him to the ground. Liz quickly shot Rassilon in the head, revealing the cyberbrain underneath. He is also knocked to the ground as the Doctor grabs his M1911 and gets up. As he aims at the Time Lord, Rassilon reaches his hand out in an attempt to stop the round. But with a cold expression, the Doctor blasted Rassilon. All that was left of the Time Lord was a broken cyberbrain and a corpse attached to it. The Doctor took a deep breath and started wiping wiping out all the data from the cyber brains with his sonic screwdriver. As cyberbrains fried in the containers, Liz placed a beacon for Foxhound teams to investigate. All that was left were empty cyberbrains, a destroyed AI, and the corpse of the last Time Lord. The two walked back to the MI6 building as the blizzard picked up. The snow's density obscured the sight of them. From a distance, they seemed to be ghostly figures. By sunrise Liz and the Doctor were back on the roof of the MI6 building. He said, "Looks like Foxhound found the hideout, hopefully the guys they arrested can get good intel on their organization." Liz asked, "Are you alright?" The Doctor replied, "Weirdly enough, yeah. I felt nothing when I killed him, even though I always tried to avoid directly killing." Liz said, "Well, if we never did anything we shouldn't do, we wouldn't feel good about doing the things we should." The Doctor smiled and said, "Excellent point." Liz said, "Thanks, hopefully with Rassilon gone, XOF will fall apart." The Doctor explained, "They'll try to hang on. But we'll get to where they're no longer a problem, eventually." Liz took a deep breath and said, "This is good, isn't it?" The Doctor answered, "Yeah, it is." He brings out his phone and headphones. They share the earpieces then play "Shiki no Uta" by Nujabes as the sun rises and life for humanity continues its process of rebuilding.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

The Tower of London is surrounded by a strangely thick ring of fog that was present even underground in the old tunnels. Recon operatives surround the area to ensure nobody enters the fog. Nobody knows what caused it or what is going on. Rumors of a monster have been rampant in London. However, the instance was only being explained by farfetched rumors and theories. The tower was now a hazard not because of toxins or terrorists, but because what was going on could not be explained at all. At the MI6 building, Liz was texting the Doctor, who had gone missing. But the texts were met with no response. Which was normally not the case. She knew that something was awry, and contacted Kate Stewart with a theory: The Doctor was somewhere in the quarantine zone.

Inside the top of the tower is the Doctor waking up, not knowing what happened or how he got there. He took out his phone and there was no signal, it said the time was 4:12 AM. No lights are on, and the trap door was locked. The room itself was in deep shadow despite the moonlight that should be able to enter the room. There were countless signs of decay. The Doctor looked at his faint reflection in the massive clock. His face was showing signs of fatigue and fear. He was missing his jacket, screwdriver, and glasses. From his perspective, his vision blurred at range. Looking around, he couldn't find anything he could use to unlock the trap door. With no other choice, he used his prosthetic hand to break the lock. The Doctor climbed down in complete darkness, with a siren blaring in the background. Fog had begun to creep into the shaft as he climbed down. When the Doctor reached the bottom of the ladder, the room was surrounded by gears silently spinning in the walls with no apparent function. A door was barely lit and was also locked. And the Doctor again used his prosthetic hand to break the lock.

The room that awaited was one surrounded by cages and the floor was a mere metallic fence. In the cages were cybernetic corpses that are rendered unrecognizable to anybody looking to identify the body. Parts and blood were crumpled together in each cage. Silence still permeated the space, it was deafening to the Doctor. He tried to look what was below the room. All that could be seen was a staircase but only faintly. He looked around for a way to access the ladder, then finding a box of scrap. After scrounging for a bit, he found a flashlight. With that in hand, the Doctor found a hole in the fencing. He jumped down into the ladder, and tripped. He rolled down the stairs into a corner. He got back up after some struggling. He grabbed the wall to steady himself as he climber down the stairs. From above the fencing, the Doctor heard the sounds of a rifle being prepped to fire. Automatic fire rained down the stairwell as the Doctor stayed still, trying to avoid drawing the assailant's attention. But the fire began closing in on him and the Doctor jumped down the staircase, and the landing was not a smooth one as he injured his leg and dragged himself to the door, crushed the doorknob and took refuge from the hale of rounds.

After a while, the firing stopped as if the assailant had no more rounds to spend. The sound of a metallic figure walking on the fence was the only thing that was audible. The Doctor sat next to the door, putting his hand on his head in pain. He had remained silent for what to him felt like an eternity as the faintest sound of his voice would give away where he was. Near him was a small red box and his phone vibrated. It was a text from Liz that read: "Are you alright? Where are you?" The Doctor sent a message that said, "I'm alive, apprently in the quarantine zone. I'll try to get out quickly." Once he was far enough from the box, the signal was gone. He noticed that the tunnels were part of the old bunkers used during the war against the Combine, repurposed and expanded upon the bunkers from the Nazi attacks during the Second World War. It had been covered in similar signs of decay as the top of the Tower. The nearby rooms were empty, outside of non-functioning machines, tables, and maps. He carefully searched every room finding nothing useful. As he was about to exit to the main tunnel, the same assailant as before was heard patrolling the area. Once his footsteps couldnt be heard, the Doctor went back into the tunnels. He went to his left and slowly climbed down into the train tracks of the tunnel.

He shut off the light to avoid detection. And as he walked along the tracks to seek an exit point, he heard a train approaching. The Doctor immediately dropped to lay in the middle of the tracks. Within seconds, the train rushed by as the Doctor lay still. When it finally passed, the assailant was faintly yet unmistakibly visible to the Doctor. It was a cybernetic being with a helmet similar to the Big Daddies of Rapture and an unknown rifle. The Doctor immediately throws his flashlight at it and runs away from the assailant. He ran down the tracks and quickly opened the next door he found. In the room he entered, wires hanged from the ceiling and another red box was placed on the table. Another text made itself known. Liz replied to the previous message by saying, "I hope you're safe." He replied, "I'm more concerned about your safety than mine. Please stay out of the quarantine zone." The Doctor sat down in pain. The leg he injured was still recovering. But he could feel the painful realignment of bone and blood vessels inside the limb. A small red light on the bottom of a screen was visible next to him. He turned on the screen and it played a video showing images of the . Planets dying, innocents slaughtered, warfare raging across time and space. It seemed like an endless sequence of images. The Doctor broke the screen in anger. His headache was flaring again, more painful than before.

A radio on the table suddenly turned on. A voice could be heard saying, "Not bad for a war criminal. You might want to be careful..." The radio suddenly stopped. The Doctor tried to turn it in again, to no avail. He left the room and a flash of light appeared. The Doctor was suddenly back in the top room of the Tower of London, unable to remember anything from the ordeal. He repeated the exact steps that led him to the door. His phone had been stuck at 4:12 AM the whole time. And upon reaching the screen, he had once again destroyed it. The light flashed again at the door, repeating the cycle. Slowly as the cycle repeated itself over the course of what felt like years, he began remembering what transpired one point, the Doctor did not destroy the screen. What followed after the video was the question "Are you guilty?" He typed only the word no. This unlocked a door next to the one that always resulted in flashbacks. The new path had been littered with prosthetic parts and disposed cyberbrains. At the end of the hallway was another downward shaft. He hessitantly fell down the shaft and hit another hard landing. At this point, the space was completely dark, and without a flashlight, the Doctor used his phone to barely illuminate parts of the room. What he found were rows of beds from the bunkers hiding civilians from the Combine during the invasion. A train passed above, making itself audible from below. He slowly explored the bunker. The Doctor found a note that said, "Was it worth it?" He crumpled the note and left it. The following rooms had a sound system that suddenly sounded off flames and gunfire. The Doctor's anxiety rose as trains continued to pass by and one of them crashed into the room.

The Doctor had survived the crash trying to remain calm. But as he tried to take deep breaths, his headache got worse. Unable to figure out why it persists, he sat down and stared at the darkness for hours. Though when he checked his phone, it was still apparently 4:12 AM. Its as if time had permanently stopped. He looked around for anything to explain this phenomenon to no avail. He went back to sit and closed his eyes in an effort to rest. However, his attempts were not successful at all. There were no exits that were viable. Even the door he came through was blocked by the train. Fatigue set in as he searched for a way out. A routine emerged as he would spend hours looking for a way out and sitting back down after hours of trying to find it. Eventually due to frustration, he hit a wall with his prosthetic hand. The resulting crack revealed a door, which led to him continuing to hit the wall. A long time passed, and the door was cleared. As he made his way through the hall, he could hear the sounds of automatic fire and yelling soldiers. The Doctor was unsure if he was hallucinating, if it was bad memories haunting him, or if operatives had enxountered hostiles above.

It was a long stretch but the Doctor eventually found a ladder back up to the surface. As he climbed up, he was shot in the right side of the abdomen and fell down. He looked at the assailant as it approached him. He held his wound tight as it healed, nerve endings flaring in pain. The assailant crouched down and said, "I told you to be careful." And the Doctor gave him a menacing glare as if welcoming a likely death. The fury and pain could be seen in his eyes. Fear was not present in the mutant, which in itself confused and frightened the assailant. It didn't make any sense to it. This injured mutant was the one who ended the Time War, and instead of the expected guilt, all he could see was, at least in its eyes, pure evil. The assailant then grabbed a knife it had and stabber its own neck with it. The Doctor barely lifted himself back up and slowly climbed the ladder. He collapsed from exhaustion as a Recon operative found him and called for a helicopter pick up.

The Doctor woke up in the TARDIS in his bed as Liz sat next to him reading a book titled "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Dr. Jared Diamond. He asked, "How long have you been there?" Liz closed the book and said, "About 12 hours, I was carefully monitoring your condition. No signs of toxins or hallucinagens, so you weren't out of your mind when we found you." He replied, "And what about that thingy that was trying to kill me?" Liz said, "The rescue team picked up the corpse, and found that it was a cyborg, but its cyberbrain didn't have an identity. Just an origin point, that AI you shot." The Doctor quipped, "Figures, even though it clearly wasn't a Rassilon clone." She explained, "None of us know what it was, aside from the fact it wanted to kill you. We don't even know why it went after you or its reasons for stabbing its own neck. The cyberbrain fried itself somehow." The Doctor asked, "Does it matter?" Liz replied, "I guess not, it's just weird. It did have a diamond on it that was identified as a White-Point Star." He said, "That is weird. Well, lets just keep it out of XOF hands." Liz asked, "Are you sure you're alright?" The Doctor said, "Feel like I crawled out of the bottom of a bottle and am gonna try to stay that way." Liz quipped, "Well, you're gonna stay in bed, I can handle things." The Doctor replied, "I know, its just I'm not a big fan of just sitting here. But hey, I have complete confidence in you." Liz nodded and continued reading the book while listening to the radio. And the Doctor sighed in relief and closed his eyes.

End Chapter 3


End file.
